On Rammohan Roy

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It is a great pleasure and privilege for me in presenting to the scholars the reprint of the book On Rammohan Roy, written by Dr. R. C. Majumder, an eminent historian of our time. The book was first published by The Asiatic Society in 1972. The book which was widely acclaimed by research scholars and historians has long been out of print, we are happy that the book is being reprinted in the bicentenary year of the Society.

Publication of book of enduring value is one of the major programmes of our bicentenary celebrations. Hence, this book is being published as the second one in the series of our reprint scheme after the Tibetan translation of Nyayabindu of Dharmakirti, a treatise on Buddhist logic edited by L. DE LA VALLEE POUSSIN.

I thank my colleagues of the Publication Committee, Publication Secretary Dr. B. Gupta, Publication Officer Sri Nirbed Ray, the staff of the Publication Department and Messrs Communik Media Service for expediting the publication of this book.

BEING appointed by the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, Bimanbehari Majumdar Memorial Lecturer for 1971, I delivered two lectures on the following topics on 4 and 5 February, 1972:

1. The Date of the Birth of Raja Rammohan Roy.

2. Rammohan Roy's Contribution to the Renaissance of Bengal.

in the Nineteenth Century. These two lectures are published here with a few additions and alterations and references in footnotes.

The reasons which impelled me to choose these subjects have been explained at the beginning of each lecture. As I anticipated, these lectures have provoked comments and criticisms in the shape of a large number of letters in the Statesman. I have deliberately refrained from replying to any of them, for no fair and critical judgment of my views on such a controversial subject, round which sentiment and prejudice have gathered for a long time, is possible without a very careful reading of the lectures in print.

The forthcoming bicentenary celebrations of Rammohan Roy offer the most suitable opportunity of making a proper estimate of the ideas, activities and achievements of this great son of India, un- affected by any spirit of hero-worship which has unfortunately stood so long in the way of a dispassionate study of the subject. I have tried to make a proper assessment of some aspects of Rammohan's life from a strictly historical point of view. Though my conclusions differ very widely from the current opinions on the subject, I hope they will at least serve the purpose of drawing attention of students of history to the great need of re-thinking on the life and work of Rammohan Roy. If these lectures lead to a dispassionate historical discussion on the subject, I shall consider my labour amply rewarded.